1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to mobile device and alerting systems, and more particularly, to devices, systems and methods for confidentially communicating a security alert to a monitoring service or other entity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable digital devices are now common. Examples include the various Windows™ Pocket PC devices which have an operating system created by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Other devices include various mobile phone devices including many that have built-in camera imaging devices. Still other portable digital devices include portable media players from Creative Media of Singapore, Samsung of South Korea, Archos, Inc. of Irvine, Calif. and Apple Computers, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Additionally, Sony of New York and Japan manufacture a portable game playing device called the Sony PSP™ (PlayStation Portable).
Increasingly, many of these portable media devices include a means of transmitting and receiving digital content. Various communications technologies are frequently built into these devices. Examples of portable communicating devices include mobile phones which employ GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, and FOMA technology, among other standards, to send and receive data in addition to handling voice communications. Many of the portable media devices also include transmission capabilities including WiFi (IEEE 802.11a, b, g and x among others), Bluetooth, infrared, etc. to allow the user to transmit and receive digital content. Furthermore, some mobile devices having transmission capabilities can use this capability to achieve voice communications such as by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) when connected to the Internet or other packet switched networks.
Due to these advanced features, mobile telephones and other mobile devices are some of the most prevalent consumer electronic devices. Hundreds of millions of these devices are sold each year and are used around the world.
Increasingly crime against individuals (many of it violent) is becoming more and more prevalent. Further, many individuals also suffer unexpected medical emergencies. Therefore, due to the prevalence of mobile devices, a need exists for techniques to enable a user to utilize their personal mobile device (such as a cell phone or integrated cell phone such as a Blackberry device) to alert a security monitoring service or a designated representative (such as a friend or husband/wife/child, etc) that they are in danger and/or having an emergency.